1984: A LOOK BACK: Notable: events, people (12/30/84)

1984: A LOOK BACK

Notable: events, people

Certain notable Ukrainian events and persons of 1984 defy classification under any other heading, ergo, this section.

First, the notable happenings of 1984.

In March, the historic Ukrainian Institute of America breathed a sigh of relief as it learned that the City of New York had decided to grant it an exemption from real estate taxes for the years 1980 through 1984. The ruling removed a major financial burden from the Ukrainian cultural and educational center located on New York's Museum Mile, more specifically in a landmark building on Fifth Avenue and 79th Street. Without the exemption, the UIA would have owed the city $300,000 in back taxes. The institute, and other non-profit educational organizations in New York, were notified that henceforth they would have to qualify for such exemptions on an annual basis.
Studies about the 1932-33 Great Famine in Ukraine will be part of the curricula in Manitoba and Toronto schools, it was announced in 1984. In the province of Manitoba, the famine will be covered in a world issues course, part of a new grade 12 social studies curriculum. The famine studies were to be tested in seven Manitoba schools beginning in September. In Toronto, a short course on the famine will be taught to high school students beginning in the fall of 1985. The course was prepared by Dr. Orest Subtelny, a professor of Ukrainian history at York University.
The Ukrainian Museum in New York City on May 20 opened its mammoth photographic exhibit "To Preserve a Heritage: The Story of the Ukrainian Immigration in the United States." The exhibit, whose guest curator is Dr. Myron B. Kuropas, gives an overview of the four waves of Ukrainian immigration to this country.
A 15-foot granite and bronze monument to the Great Famine victims was unveiled in Winnipeg, in front of City Hall, on June 24. The memorial was a gift to the city from the Winnipeg branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Committee.
A memorial to the famine victims was also dedicated in Bridgeport, Conn., at Sacred Heart University on July 7. The memorial consists of a pin oak tree and a black granite monument with the inscription: "May this oak live in the memory of the 7 million Ukrainians forcibly starved on their own land by the Soviet regime in the Great Famine of 1932-33."

The following were among the notable Ukrainians of 1984.

Bohdan Futey, a Cleveland lawyer, was tapped in April to be chairman of the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. Later in the year, in July, he was appointed national chairman of Ukrainian Americans for Reagan-Bush '84.
Dr. Myron B. Kuropas, supreme vice-president of the Ukrainian National Association, was elected vice-chairman of the board of directors of the National Center for Urban/Ethnic Affairs, it was announced in May.
Arn Kritsky, a Ukrainian weight-lifter from Vienna, Va., qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in May. The 22-year-old went on to place ninth in his division at the Olympic Games, while the U.S. team finished second to Canada's first place.
Mykola Movchan, a 20-year-old Ukrainian sergeant who deserted the Red Army in Afghanistan, arrived in the United States in August.
Ray Hnatyshyn of Saskatoon was named in September to serve as minister of state in the Cabinet of Canada's new prime minister, Brian Mulroney, a Progressive Conservative.
Walter W. Dudycz, a 34-year-old Chicago police detective, was elected to the Illinois State Senate in the November elections. He represents the 7th District on Chicago's Northwest Side.
John Hnatyschak, the 28-year-old body builder from Bayonne, N.J., who first appeared in The Weekly in 1983, went on this year to capture the Eastern regional and Mr. America titleds in his weight division. In October he earned the ultimate title, Mr. Universe, at the international body building championships held in Las Vegas.
Pavlo Stokotelnyj, husband of former Soviet political prisoner Nadia Svitlychna and brother-in-law of imprisoned Ukrainian Helsinki Group member Mykola Horbal, went on a two-week hunger strike in November in order to protest the new charges levelled by the Soviets at Mr. Horbal, and Yosyf Zisels, another Helsinki monitor. The site of Mr. Stokotelnyj's hunger strike was Ralphe Bunche Park near the United Nations complex in New York.
Robert McConnell, a Ukrainian by marriage (his wife is Nadia Komarnyckyj McConnell), was appointed CBS vice-president for Washington, effective December 1. Mr. McConnell previously served as assistant attorney general for legislative affairs at the Justice Department.